TIP OF THE DAY 110: Speaking with style - common figures of word use

MJ. Smith

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QUESTION: Give examples of the tagging of common figures of word usage in the Bible.

ANSWER: Drawn from the list of common Biblical figures and tropes shared earlier.

Metonymy: Using one name or noun instead of a related one.

Example: Matthew 3:2 heaven used rather than God

figureofSpeech:(description:"Change of Noun" AND name:Metonymy)

Bullinger divides metonymy into several subdivisions which will be discussed in their own question below.

Synecdoche: Using a part to represent the whole or vice versa.

Example Exodus 9:6

figureofSpeech:(description:Transfer AND name:Synecdoché)

Bullinger divides synecdoche into many subdivisions which will be discussed below in its own question.

Euphemism: Substituting a mild expression for a harsh one.

Example: Genesis 15:15

figureofSpeech:(description:Euphemy AND name:Euphemismos)

Personification: Attributing human characteristics to non-human things.

Example: Genesis 4:7

figureofSpeech:(description:Personification AND name:Prosopopoeia)

and the related anti-personification

Example: 2 Samuel 16:9

figureofSpeech:(description:Anti-personification AND name:Antiprosopopoeia)

Apostrophe: Addressing an absent person or inanimate object.

Example: Matthew 13:14

figureofSpeech:name:Apostrophe

Oxymoron: Combining contradictory terms.

Matthew 16:25

figureofSpeech:(description:Wise-Folly AND name:Oxymoron)

QUESTION: What subdivisions does Bullinger make in the figure of synecdoche?

ANSWER: from Bullinger, Ethelbert William. Figures of Speech Used in the Bible. London; New York: Eyre & Spottiswoode; E. & J. B. Young & Co., 1898.

The difference between Metonymy and Synecdoché lies in this; that in Metonymy, the exchange is made between two related nouns; while in Synecdoché, the exchange is made between two associated ideas.

Synecdoché of the Genus is where the genus is put for a species.

Synecdoché of the Species is where a species is put for the genus.

Synecdoché of the Whole is where the whole is put for a part: and

Synecdoché of the Part is where a part is put for the whole.

These four divisions may be further described and set forth as follows:—

I.Synecdoché of the GENUS.

i.All for the greater part.

ii.Universal affirmative does not affirm particularly.

iii.Universal negative does not deny particularly.

iv.Universals for particulars.

v.Wider meanings for narrower.

II.Synecdoché of the SPECIES.

i.Many for all.

ii.Narrower meaning for wider.

iii.Proper names for common.

iv.A species put for whole genus.

v.Verbs: special for general.

vi.One example or specimen for all kinds.

III.Synecdoché of the WHOLE.

i.All or every for the whole.

ii.Collective for the particular.

iii.The whole for one of its parts.

iv.A place for a part of it.

v.Time for a part of it.

IV.Synecdoché of the PART.

i.An integral part of man (individually) for the whole man, etc.

ii.An integral part of men (collectively) for the whole.

iii.A part of a thing for the whole thing.

iv.A part of a time for the whole time.[1]

QUESTION: : What subdivisions does Bullinger make in the figure of metonymy?

ANSWER: from Bullinger, Ethelbert William. Figures of Speech Used in the Bible. London; New York: Eyre & Spottiswoode; E. & J. B. Young & Co., 1898.

Metonymy is not founded on resemblance, but on relation.

When we say that a person writes “a bad hand,” we do not mean a hand, but we use the noun “hand” for the characters which it writes.

Metonymy is of four kinds: viz., of the Cause, of the Effect, of the Subject, and of the Adjunct.

I. Metonymy of the Cause is when the cause is put for the effect: i.e., when the doer is put for the thing done; or, the instrument for that which is effected; or, where the action is put for the effect produced by the action.

II. Metonymy of the Effect is the opposite of the above: when the effect is put for the cause.

III. Metonymy of the Subject is when the subject is put for something pertaining to it: as the possessor for the possessed; the thing signified for the sign.

IV. Metonymy of the Adjunct, on the contrary, is when that which pertains to anything is put for the thing itself.

Some grammarians have added a fifth Metonymy, where the antecedent is put for the consequent; but it really belongs to Metonymy of the Cause.

The following is the complete outline of the figure now to be treated of:—

METONYMY

I.Of the CAUSE.

i.The person acting for the thing done.

ii.The instrument for the thing effected.

iii.The thing or action for the thing produced by it.

iv.The material for the thing made from or of it.

II.Of the EFFECT.

i.The action or effect for the person producing it.

ii.The thing effected for the instrument or organic cause of it.

iii.The effect for the thing or action causing it.

iv.The thing made for the material from which it is made or produced.

III.Of the SUBJECT.

i.The subject receiving for the thing received.

ii.The container for the contents.

iii.The possessor for the thing possessed.

iv.The object for that which pertains or relates to it.

v.The thing signified for the sign.

IV.Of the ADJUNCT.

i.The accident for the subject.

ii.The contents for the container.

iii.The time for the things done or existing in it.

iv.The appearance of a thing for its nature; or, the opinion about it for the thing itself.

v.The action or affection for the object of it.

vi.The sign for the thing signified.

vii.The name of a person for the person himself, or the thing.[2]

Note that these subdivisions are not reflected in the tagging but must be added by the user, usually from Bullinger.

[1] Ethelbert William Bullinger, Figures of Speech Used in the Bible (London; New York: Eyre & Spottiswoode; E. & J. B. Young & Co., 1898), 613–614.

[2] Ethelbert William Bullinger, Figures of Speech Used in the Bible (London; New York: Eyre & Spottiswoode; E. & J. B. Young & Co., 1898), 538–539.